Only a Little Blue
by Riahannon
Summary: Just another day at PPTH when Cameron receives a mysterious phone call and House wants to know who, what and why...
1. Part 1

Title: Only a Little Blue

Rating: PG-13 (just to be on the safe side: harsh language, sexual references and sexual situations)

Summary: Just another day at PPTH when Cameron receives a mysterious phone call and House wants to know who, what and why...

A/N:This is my first posted House fiction so comments are extremely helpful. Please no flaming, but constructive criticism is always wanted.

Part 1

She was late. Late, late, late, late, late.

Dr. Allison Cameron jogged up the steps of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital with a coffee in one hand and her briefcase in the other. As she walked in, a couple of nurses and doctors greeted her, but in her haste, she just nodded at them.

As long as House wasn't in yet, she was fine, Cameron determined. She ran to the elevator just as the door was closing.

"Excuse me I-" Cameron cut herself off at the sight of her very smug boss stopping the door with his cane.

"Dr. Cameron." He drew his words out. "How nice of you to show up today. Late night?"

She had the dignity to glare at him. "Not that it's any of your business, but yes."

"You're an hour late," House commented as she stood rigidly by his side.

"Due to your often tardiness, I don't think you should reprimand me for being late once," Cameron said stiffly.

House rolled his eyes at the young doctor. "Cameron, relax. I'm not going to fire you."

As soon as he saw her shoulders drop slightly, he added, "You're just taking my clinic hours."

The elevator door slid open and House shuffled out, leaving an annoyed Cameron behind.

She blinked, shaking her head slightly and then started after him. "All because I was an hour late?"

"Well that and I really don't like the clinic, gives me the heebie-jeebies." House gave a mock shudder as he pushed the door to his office open.

Foreman and Chase were already sitting at the table, sipping their coffees. They glanced up as the newcomers walked in, looking surprised to see a harried Cameron.

"Hey, you're late," Chase said, the surprise evident in his voice.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," House said sarcastically and tossed a file on the table. "Cuddy managed to corner me in the men's room and gave me this."

Foreman immediately grabbed the file and leafed through it. _"_Fourteen-year-old girl admitted last night with complaints of: coughing, shortness of breath, stiff joints, weight loss, rash, sensitivity to light, pain in the eye and blurry vision."

House scribbled the symptoms on the whiteboard and scoffed. "This is what Cuddy assigns me? I'm shocked and appalled. I thought she knew me better than this."

Foreman shuffled the papers together and slipped them back in the file. "Berylliosis is possible, exposure to beryllium metal._"_

House tapped his cane against the leg of the table, silent for a moment. "Interesting…but no. Chase?"

The Australian sighed. "Rheumatoid arthritis."

"And just as likely, aliens could have kidnapped her and sucked her brain out," House retorted and stared at the whiteboard. "Talk to the parents. See if they've been out of the country recently."

"Think it's a parasite?" Cameron finally spoke up.

"Or little green fellows. Chase, Foreman, go," he said to the other two doctors.

Both doctors stood up and left the room. Cameron looked up at House, annoyed. "Do I not count?"

"Of course you do," House said as he limped into his office. "You're on clinic duty. Here, borrow my lab coat if it makes you feel better." He tossed the never used item at Cameron who caught it.

"House, just because-"

"Ah!" He cut her off, holding his hand up. "Go!"

"Hou-"

"You were late ergo clinic duty," House told her as he sat down in his chair.

Cameron's jaw clenched as she spun on her heel, exiting his office. House watched her go for a minute and then fished into his pocket for his Gameboy.

"Level 10, I'm gonna kick your ass."

Cameron sighed loudly as her fifth patient of the morning left, sniffling loudly. While she didn't hate clinic duty like House, it was rather mundane compared to their cases. Her stomach rumbled loudly, remind her that she'd forgone breakfast since she'd woken up late.

Another sigh exhaled from her mouth and she rubbed her head. Maybe now would be a good time to take her break. She could check in on their patient and get some food.

Shuffling the papers in her hand, Cameron stood up and walked out of Exam Room 2 and handed the nurse the file. "I'm going on break," she announced and the woman nodded tiredly.

Cameron made her way up to House's office and peered in. The office was empty along with the room. Her brow creased. Huh, she wondered, usually this early in day House was still in his office watching TV or doing something equally useless.

She walked to the patient's room and paused outside the door. The young girl, Caitlin Winters, if Cameron remembered correctly, was sitting up while Foreman listened to her chest.

The teen was thin and pale, her eyes swollen slightly. Inflammation, Cameron noted. Even from a distance, she could tell the girl was having trouble breathing. She stepped into the room and Foreman looked up.

"Hey Cameron, where've you been?"

She rolled her eyes. "Clinic duty."

Foreman frowned. "I thought you the day off."

"I do, but House doesn't," Cameron answered and then turned to the girl with a warm smile. "Hi, I'm Dr. Cameron, and I'll be another one of your doctors today. How are you?"

Caitlin let out a ragged breath. "Not that good." She eyed the female doctor curiously. "How many doctors do I have?"

"Four," Cameron answered, "we're the diagnostics team. We take on special cases-"

"The ones nobody else can figure out?" The girl finished, her face sad.

Cameron's smile faltered. "Don't worry, you'll be fine." She glanced around. "Where are your parents?"

"My mom just went to get a drink and call my grandma," Caitlin answered.

"Well, it was nice to meet you Caitlin, I'll see you later," Cameron said, trying to sound cheerful.

Foreman walked her to the door. "Cameron, why are you taking House's clinic hours? That's kinda sad…even for you."

She bristled. "I didn't _volunteer_. It's for being late."

Foreman shook his head. "That guy will stoop to anything to get out of clinic duty. Hey, have you seen Chase?"

Cameron shook her head no. "I better get back. Later."

She walked out of the room and to the cafeteria where she bought herself yogurt, water and a banana. It was nearly empty and she easily found a deserted table to eat in peace. Her only hope was that House wouldn't decide the cafeteria was a good place to hide from Cuddy and come in.

Swirling her spoon thoughtfully, her mind reviewed the girl's, Caitlin, symptoms. Something was nagging at her mind, something essential. She frowned and peeled her banana, chewing slowly.

"Excuse me." Cameron looked up to see a woman no older than her late thirties standing there with a coffee. "Are you Dr. Cameron?"

Cameron nodded, a little wary.

"I'm Anita Winters," the worn looking woman explained, "Caitlin's mother."

"Oh," Cameron said, "Hi. How did you know…?"

Anita gave her slightly puzzled smile. "Some man told me you were one of Caitlin's doctors. I was getting something to drink and I thought maybe I could sit with you…" she trailed off.

"Sure," Cameron replied, gesturing the chair across from her. "Sit down."

Anita sat down slowly, setting her coffee with supreme carefulness on the table. Cameron recognized this. It was the movement of someone putting all their energy into remaining calm, in control for their loved ones. She could help but flash Anita a sympathetic look. "How are you?"

Anita let out a short bitter laugh. "My daughter's in the hospital and no one can tell me what's wrong." The woman stared down into her coffee and then looked up again. "I just want her to be okay," she whispered fearfully.

"Dr. House is very good at what he does. Your daughter's going to be fine," Cameron said reassuringly.

Anita's gaze drifted over the doctor's shoulder. "I hope so."

After excusing herself, Cameron hurried back to the clinic, internally cursing herself. The clinic had paged her and that was when she realized she'd been gone nearly half an hour longer than her break permitted.

"Dr. Cameron, you have a patient in-"

"I know, I know," she cut the nurse off, trying to hold back her irritableness.

She raced to Exam Room 2 and opened the door, pasting a toothpaste smile on. "Hi, sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Dr.-"she stopped at the mouth-dropping sight of House sitting in a chair, listening to the patient, a middle-aged man, list his symptoms.

House blinked, feigning surprise. "Oh, hello Dr. Cameron. Are you here for my consult?"

"Consult?" She echoed faintly.

"I was just talking to Mr.…" House looked down, "Greenman about his very concerning cough."

"It's like a hacking noise, with wheeze," the man added helpfully.

Cameron ignored the man. "What are you doing here? I thought I was covering your clinic hours today."

House shrugged. "Cuddy found me. Promised me her naughty version of the gold star." He rubbed his hands together gleefully. "I hope it involves spanking."

Cameron rolled her eyes at the disgusting, purely House comment. The man, however, perked up with interest. "Spanking?"

House turned to Mr. Greenman. "I'm afraid I have some very bad news for you. My colleague and I have discussed your symptoms and reached an explanation."

At House's grave expression, the man paled. "B-but she's only been in here for a minute."

"I know," House replied, "it only took two seconds to figure out your 'hacking cough with wheeze' is a cold. Now leave."

Mr. Greenman stared dumbly. "A cold? But-"

"No buts, unless you're me and Cuddy in her office. You're _fine_. Go be free." House motioned to the door with his hand. Slowly the man hopped of the table and left, looking bewildered.

"Why are you here?" Cameron repeated firmly after the door shut.

"Because," House replied as if she were a five year old. "I saw you with the patient's mother."

Cameron tensed. "I was on break and Ms. Winters found me-"

"No," House corrected, grabbing his cane to stand up. "I found you and sent Ms. Winters. The woman's hiding something and I want to know what."

"So…you're sending me?" Cameron asked doubtfully.

"She trusts you," House conceded. "More than Chase or Foreman. And way more than me since I've only talked to her once to say 'that's Dr. Cameron'."

"Okay, I'll go talk to her," Cameron agreed, frowning slightly.

"No, god Cameron, I don't want you to talk to her, I want her to confide in you," he said, emphasizing the difference. "I want to know what she won't tell us, because it's most likely what will save her damn daughter's life."

Cameron's jaw visibly clenched, her eyes cold with fury at his callousness. "I'll see what I can do," she said shortly.

"Good." House hobbled over to the door opening it for her. "Go find something juicy."


	2. Part II

Part II

"So… chest x-ray revealed granulomas in the lungs." House capped the pen. "Any more differentials?"

"TB," Foreman said immediately. "Fits her symptoms. Also, she's presenting a fever and chills."

House nodded. "Anything else?"

Cameron half-shrugged. "Fungal infections can cause granulomas but…"

"It doesn't fit with her other symptoms," Chase finished, tapping his pencil on the table.

"What about the rash?" House proposed. "Anyone taken a look at that?"

"It's a erythematous eruption on her shins. They're most commonly associated with drug reactions or infections," Foreman answered.

"Well that doesn't fit TB," House retorted. He stared at the board for a few moments. "I want a full blood work up. And talk to the patient some more, she's obviously not sharing all of her symptoms. No one _doesn't_ notice a fever."

The three doctors stood up and started to leave the room when House called out, "Cameron, stay here for a minute."

Foreman and Chase exchanged glances as they walked out of the room, wondering what Cameron did this time.

House waited until the other two were around the corner before talking. "Have you talked to mom yet?"

Cameron tensed. "I haven't had a chance."

House reclined back in his seat, watching as Cameron's whole body tightened, waiting for his berating. "And why's that?"

Cameron's chin tilted upward. "I've been busy. The patient-"

House cut her off. "Foreman and Chase can handle the patient for now. You have a job to do. Remember yesterday? I said something along the lines of 'find me something juicy'? I want to know if mom's hiding something."

Cameron scoffed. "What makes you think she is? You've barely spoken to her!"

"Everybody lies," House replied easily.

Cameron's eyes narrowed. "Right, of course they do." She paused for a moment, holding his gaze. "I'll go talk to her now."

"Good idea," House said simply, twirling the cane in his hand. With that, Cameron walked out of the room, not looking back once.

"Ms. Winters, can I talk to you for a moment?" Cameron asked, standing in the doorway.

Chase glanced up at her with a questioning look, which Cameron avoided. The woman nodded quickly, "Of course."

Cameron led the woman to the end of the hallway to a semi-secluded area and sat down in the chair. The woman sat down on the couch across from Cameron, her face openly worried.

"Is everything alright?" Anita asked, fiddling with the hem of her dress shirt.

"Uh, yeah, I just…had a few questions for you. Um, have you been out of the country recently? Maybe to Africa?" Cameron cleared her throat, her eyes trained on the woman.

Anita shook her head. "No, I went to Italy a few years ago, but that's about it."

Cameron nodded slightly. "Okay, has Caitlin been out of the country?"

"No, she's been begging me to take her to Europe," Anita laughed a little, "As if I have time right now."

Cameron tried to smile but it was strained. "Ms. Winters-"

"Please, call me Anita," she corrected.

"Anita, it's very important that you're honest with us. If you have ever been to Africa or have had contact with someone who was ill, maybe with TB?" Cameron suggested.

"W-what do you mean?" Anita trembled. "Is my daughter going to be okay?"

"She will, but it's essential that you tell us everything so we can avoid a misdiagnosis and help your daughter," Cameron paused for effect, her expression serious, "I'll ask again: have you been out of the country besides Italy?"

Anita's eyes shimmered with tears. "I…N-no."

Even Cameron could tell the woman was hiding something now. "Are you sure?" She persisted.

Anita pressed her hands against her eyes, sniffling. "No!" Her voice was thick with tears, "I haven't!"

Cameron watched as the woman tried to hold back her sobs. "Okay. You can go back to your daughter's room now, Dr. Chase should be done drawing blood."

Anita pulled her hands away and sniffled again. "You believe me?"

Cameron stood up, her face solemn. "I don't have a choice."

Cameron had just purchased a coffee and salad and sat down at a table when the familiar sight of a cane and a pair of athletic shoes came into view. She glanced up in mid-bite to see House standing over her.

"Judging by the mixture of pensiveness and frustration on your face, I'd say talking to what's-her-name's mother didn't go so well," House guessed as he lowered himself into the chair across from her.

Odd, Cameron couldn't help but think, how the usually safe cafeteria was gradually becoming everyone's favorite place to corner her. "You're right, she is hiding something. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of you having the answer, but my ego can always use the stroking," House replied, placing his cane on the table.

Cameron let out a quiet scoff and took another bite of her salad.

"You eat disgustingly health foods," House commented and glanced around her plate. "Where're your chips?"

"Excuse me?" Cameron said, frowning as she sipped her coffee.

"Chips. Usually when Wilson buys a salad he at least compensates with a bag of chips. Preferably Lays," he answered, still looking at her tray.

Cameron's glare deepened. "I don't have any chips." She sighed and dropped her fork. "Is there something else?"

"Blood work came back," House said, finally getting to the point.

"Anything?" Cameron asked, curious. She took another sip of her coffee.

"Oh yeah," House said, his eyes widening almost comically. "My office, five minutes." He grabbed his cane of the table and hobbled out of the cafeteria.

Cameron stared down at her unfinished salad and sighed, loudly this time. She went to toss it out and kept the coffee, sipping it as she made her way back to House's office.

By the time she arrived, Foreman and Chase were already sitting down, looking at the whiteboard with concentrating. Cameron sat down and looked to see House had written 'calcium and ACE elevated'.

"You probably want to add enlarged lymph nodes," Foreman suggested.

House's eyes narrowed as he wrote. "I would have if someone had actually mentioned…"

"Caitlin," Chase supplied.

"Caitlin had enlarged lymph nodes," House finished.

Cameron studied the board. "Well the elevated calcium level explains the fatigue, complaints of bone pain and weight loss."

"And the ACE level raised is…?" House prompted.

"Gaucher's disease," Chase suggested.

Foreman shook his head. "No seizures."

"Well, that's not always the case," Chase countered.

"Ooh, tension in the room," House intoned.

"Guys," Cameron interrupted, ever the peacemaker, "we need a more definitive answer and it's not going to be found by raised ACE levels."

"What about-" Chase began but was cut off by the high-pitched sound of a phone ringing.

House glanced down at the phone in front of him, which was definitely not ringing. He looked up at the confused doctors. "Cell phone anyone?"

"Mine's in my car," Foreman answered.

"Mine's at home," Chase added.

"Oh," Cameron spoke up, sounding surprised, "it's mine." She reached over to her coat hanging behind her. She took it out and looked at the screen with an obviously controlled blank gaze and quickly turned it off. "Sorry about that."

Chase glanced over at her. "Who was it?"

Cameron shook her head. "Nobody important. So, definitive answer?"

House's gaze stayed on Cameron. "Lymph node biopsy. And lung too." He made a mockingly quizzical face. "Can we do both?"

Cameron rolled her eyes a little. "I'll get the consent forms for a lymph node biopsy. It'll take less time."

"You go do that," House agreed as she exited the room.

"We'll go prep the patient," Foreman said and he and Chase stood up.

"Ah-ah-ah. Not so fast," House said and pointed with his cane to the chairs. "Sit down. I want to do a differential."

Foreman frowned. "On what? The biopsy will-"

House waved his hand dismissively. "Not on…"

"Caitlin," Chase supplied again.

"Caitlin. On Cameron's interesting phone call," House corrected.

Foreman scoffed. "_It's a phone call_. Not the answer to the meaning of life."

Chase, however, looked mildly interested. "What do you mean?"

"Evasiveness, trying to hide annoyance or fear…or both," House paused, glancing upward. "Could be important. Might threaten her competency as a doctor."

Now Chase rolled his eyes. "No, it won't. Foreman's right, it's just a phone call. Probably her mum or something."

Foreman stood up. "Okay, _now_ we're gonna go prep the patient." Chase followed him as they walked down to the room leaving House sitting in his chair.

He was studying Cameron's coat, wondering who was calling. Someone who she didn't talk to regularly, he mused, otherwise they wouldn't have called in the middle of the day. Not a family emergency, she would have said so.

House twirled his cane, tilting his head slightly. Who could possibly be calling Dr. Allison Cameron?


	3. Part III

Part III

"What is this?"

"_This_ is a consent form you need to sign in order for us to do a lymph node biopsy."

Ms. Winters blinked, the clipboard in her hand drooping slightly. "A…lymph node biopsy?"

"It's where we essentially take a part of the lymph node and examine it under a microscope," Cameron answered briskly.

Anita slowly took the pen from the top of the clipboard and glanced over the papers in her hand. "And this will help my daughter?"

"Most likely, yes," Cameron answered, her face expressionless.

"Most likely?" Anita echoed, pausing at the signature line.

"It will definitely narrow down our diagnosis, but it may be possible that we'll have to do a lung biopsy as well," Cameron further explained as Anita handed the clipboard and pen back.

"Oh," Anita said faintly and pressed her palms against her head. "How long will this take?"

"Probably about a half-hour. Caitlin will be put under a mild anesthetic and we'll numb the area, of course. She'll be a little out of it afterwards but you'll be able to see her," Cameron said and started to walk away.

"Thank you," Anita called after her. Cameron paused, but didn't reply.

"I know you think I'm lying," she continued, "but thank you for helping Caitlin."

Finally Cameron spoke. "She's our patient."

"Where's Cameron again?"

"If it were a perfect world she'd be getting info out of Mommy Dearest, but alas it's not. She's probably hugging everybody and singing 'Kumbaya'."

Wilson snorted at the imagery. "She's probably just getting the consent form signed."

"Exactly." House slapped his juice box down and studied it quizzically. "Why do they make these things so small?"

"Well stealing it from the pediatric ward's lunch cart tends to factor in," Wilson remarked. "Where's Foreman? Or Chase?" He asked and glanced around. He was on Cuddy duty.

"Supervising the biopsy," House answered and slurped his juice. "I tried to get Chase to work on labs, but separating those two…yikes! They're practically glued hand-in-hand," he lowered his voice, "I think Chasey-Wasey wets the bed sometimes."

Wilson shook his head. "You should give him more credit. He's a good doctor, just not…you know…you."

"Please, I give Chase any more credit his head will explode. He already thinks he did well on actually suggesting a differential," House shot back.

"Fine, then what about Cameron? She, I know, does deserve the credit. She probably suggested a good differential and managed to eliminate one too _and_ I'll even bet she's leading you in the right direction." Wilson took a hearty bite of his apple, looking smug.

House just glowered. "She shot down a fungal infection and proposed in her meek little voice that we find 'a definitive answer'."

Wilson chuckled a little. "Cameron is naïve and nice, two things you hate, but she's smart and she knows how to-"

"Manipulate," House finished. "She manipulates."

Wilson's eyebrow quirked upward. "And you don't?"

"I make it much prettier, less whiny and more demanding. Besides, Cameron needs to learn how to stick to her idea and peruse it," House grumbled.

Wilson leaned back in his chair. "Don't we all."

Cameron stood on the outside of the glass wall, intently watching the lymph node biopsy. She was vaguely aware of a couple other doctors peering over her shoulder, waiting to get a glimpse of House's most recent patient. While most doctors in the hospital resented House for one reason or another, they couldn't deny that his patients were interesting.

She sighed loudly and turned around, wedging herself between two doctors. She headed to the waiting room area where Caitlin's mother was currently sitting.

She saw the familiar blonde head and the woman looked up anxiously. "They're done already?"

"No, I just thought I'd come out and let you know Caitlin's doing fine, they're just finishing up," Cameron corrected.

Anita let out a shaky breath and coiled back into her chair. "Oh…good." Her eyes fluttered shut then opened. "When will you get the results?"

"Tomorrow, probably late morning," Cameron replied and shifted slightly. "Well I'll just…"

"This is all my fault," Anita blurted out, her voice mournful.

Cameron froze, her breath caught. This is what she'd been waiting for, the confession. This is what House wanted.

"I didn't want this to happen. I love my daughter, I do. It's just that…it was so hard." The woman sniffled and squeezed her eyes shut.

Cameron slowly lowered herself into a chair. "What was?" she prodded gently.

Anita exhaled sharply, glancing upward. "I was only twenty years old when I had Caitlin. I loved her, dearly, but I also felt cheated…cheated of seeing the world and getting a chance to live. So…when she was two, I left…" she stopped, staring off at nothing.

"Where did you go?" Cameron finally spoke.

"Everywhere. India, Egypt, South Africa, Europe, Hawaii. All the exotic places I could think of," Anita answered with a bitter laugh. "I also had many…boyfriends…and it's not like I really knew them very well…" she paused, "did I do this to Caitlin?"

"We don't know," Cameron answered truthfully.

Anita's gaze was trained on her manicured fingers. "Do you think…I'm a bad mother?"

Cameron could clearly hear the pleading in her voice, but didn't care. She so badly wanted to say 'yes, you are.' Instead, she stood up. "I have to go. A nurse will show you to Caitlin's room."

Anita sniffled and nodded slowly. "Okay." Her voice was raspy with unshed tears.

Cameron couldn't get away fast enough. Anita's words echoed in her mind. Was she bad? She'd abandoned her daughter for her own selfish needs. Wasn't that wrong? Was it even worth it?

Cameron walked towards House's office hoping he'd be there. She peered in and saw he was, in fact, sitting in his chair throwing his super-sized tennis ball against the wall.

"The patient's mother confessed," Cameron announced as a greeting.

"See, that wasn't so hard. So, where was she? Africa? India?" House asked, still bouncing the ball.

"Both, actually," Cameron replied, "she left Caitlin, who was only two years old, and took off to have an 'adventure'." Her disdain was clear as she bit out the word 'adventure'.

"Relax Cameron, I can _feel_ your disapproval. You don't need to do that…clenching thing," House retorted, fiddling with his pen.

"I'm not!" She automatically responded. "But the woman abandoned her helpless child to run off because she felt cheated out of having a life. Caitlin was completely dependent on her mother, she inexplicably trusted her and instead she gave up and left him," Cameron stopped ranting, her face slightly flushed. "I mean her, she gave up and left her."

House's eyes stayed trained on her. "Who is it we're talking about here again?"

The blush deepened. "Ms. Winters, the patient's mother."

House's gaze never wavered. "Are you sure about that?" He reached over and took a bite of his apple, watching as Cameron's lips thinned.

"Of course," she said shortly.

"Hmm," House said as he swallowed. There was a long pause. "The biopsy done yet?"

"No," Cameron answered stiffly, "They're just finishing up."

"Good. Get everyone in my office. Let's see what the found," House ordered, propping his feet up.

Cameron froze. Was this it? No pestering, no wheedling for information on Cameron's deep dark secret?

House gave her an expectant look. "I'm sorry, did I say that in Swahili? Go."

Cameron spun on her heel, quickly exiting his office. Angry and humiliated, she took her time walking back to the room.

Foreman and Chase were checking her vitals when she walked in.

"How's she doing?" Cameron asked, walking over the teen. Her eyes were closed and her breath came in shallow, ragged pants.

"I've sent the biopsy to the lab. They should be back tomorrow," Chase answered. He glanced up at Cameron's tense face.

"What's up?" He asked, picking up the patient's file.

"House wants us in his office," Cameron answered dully.

Foreman finished listening to Caitlin's chest and pocketed his stethoscope. He let out a small sigh. "Let's go then. Nurse Calloway's bring the mom back in. We already spoke to her, told her the biopsy went fine."

"Yeah," Cameron added, "I spoke to her on my way out."

"Where were you?" Chase questioned.

"I was just…checking up on the patient's history. Making sure we covered all our bases," Cameron feebly answered.

Chase and Foreman exchanged glances behind Cameron's back as she pressed the elevator button.

"Cameron, you alright?" Foreman ventured.

Her brow creased. "I'm fine."

"She's not fine," House announced. "Her breathing sucks and we have unexplained nodules on the shins." He turned to his department. "Anything?"

Foreman shook his head, looking annoyed he didn't have a solution.

"The biopsy will give us-" Chase's words were cut off by House.

"So what? Doesn't mean we can't do a differential, folks. Now come on, what causes fatigue, raised calcium levels, rashes, enlarged hilar lymph nodes, inflammation in the eye, and granulomas?" House looked at them with raised eyebrows.

There was a bated silence before Cameron spoke, her voice full of disbelief. "Sarcoidosis," she said slowly and stared up at House, her face drawn tight. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"


End file.
